


Can I Keep Him?

by nevermindirah



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: How it should have happened, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-11-11
Updated: 2007-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-11 08:29:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2061141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevermindirah/pseuds/nevermindirah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Officer Parkman thinks it might have been worth getting shot four times in the chest, because now he has two daily visitors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can I Keep Him?

Matt could hear tiny feet racing down the hallway. He reached out briefly, just to make sure it was her, and smiled when he caught can't wait to tell him about school! Molly's mind was racing faster even than those clomping little feet, and loudly, because he couldn't hear anything from the professor he knew Molly was tugging along.

He moved to sit up as his visitors reached the door. Molly ran to him with a shout of "Officer Parkman!"

Mohinder leaned against the door jamb and took in Molly squeezing her hero half to death. Both Molly and Matt were too wrapped up in their hug to catch Mohinder's sad smile.

Molly let go but stayed hovering right by Matt's bed. "How are you feeling today, Officer Parkman?"

"I'm feeling a lot better. Helps to have my favorite visitor here!" Matt reached a hand out to gently ruffle Molly's hair. "Actually, the nurse was telling me that I should be able to get out of here before too long now."

Molly's face clouded. "Will I still be able to come see you after you leave the hospital?"

"Oh, sweetie! Of course! Now I don't know where I'm going to be yet -- Well, but wherever I am you're always welcome to come see me. I'd miss you too much!"

Mohinder was still leaning against the door jamb, arms folded, taking in the scene with a quiet expression. Molly was smoothing down Matt's blankets. Then suddenly she jumped and turned to beam at Mohinder.

"Oh I know! Officer Parkman could come live with us!"

She was looking back and forth between her two heroes with this impossible-to-refuse look on her face, like she was asking to keep a stray puppy. Matt barked out a surprised laugh.

"Now Molly," Mohinder said as he crossed the room, "Officer Parkman has a wife, remember. He'll be going to live with her." He took a seat in one of the visitors' chairs by Matt's bed and brought a hand up to rest on Molly's shoulder.

Matt had simultaneously reached out to pat Molly's shoulder. When his hand brushed Mohinder's their eyes met briefly before Matt blushed and brought his hand back to rest by his side. Mohinder looked guarded.

_Really not at all an appropriate time to think about --_

Matt's eyebrow shot up. He opened his mouth a few times but couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't really inappropriate and presumptuous and stupid. He hazarded a glance over to Mohinder, who was also fish-mouthed.

"Well I started at my new school today," Molly broke in.

Mohinder smiled in relief. "That's right, you did. Now what was it you wanted to tell Officer Parkman about your first day?"

She grinned and started bouncing. "Oh it was so cool! Some of the other kids were weird and made faces, but some were really nice, and there's this one girl who said I could go to the park with her and her dog! And the teacher said I didn't have to take the vocabulary quiz because it was my first day, but I took it just to see and I got nine out of ten! And I got the extra credit word, "melodramatic," because Mohinder said it about a TV show yesterday, and now she thinks I'm smart!'

"That's great, Molly! Wow, nine out of ten on your first day." Matt looked to the side. "Mohinder's a very smart man -- I bet you're learning a lot from him."

Matt heard another set of small clomping feet racing down the hallway.

"He's silly," Molly said. "He's teaching me how to take care of our lizard. His name is also Mohinder."

Matt saw Micah poke his head in the door, tired-looking mom in tow.

"Hey Molly!"

Molly spun around. "Micah! Hey! You're here to see your dad?"

"Yeah. You want to come say hi? Oh, how was your first day? That was today right?"

Molly grinned, then turned back to Mohinder. "Can I go hang out with Micah, Mohinder?"

Mohinder waved to Niki, who'd stopped in the doorway behind Micah. "Yes, you may, as long as it's alright with Micah's mother." Niki nodded with a weary smile. "Come right back here when you're done visiting."

"Yes sir!" Molly dashed over to Micah. "You'll never guess what happened!" And they were off down the hallway, and Mohinder was left sitting at Matt's bedside, eyes darting anywhere but Matt's face.

"It looks like she's doing really well with you."

"She's adjusting as best as can be expected. It's such a relief that her first day of school went well. Poor child needs as much stability as she can get, and --"

"Mohinder, she's doing great. You're making a good dad."

Mohnder looked up to find Matt was studying him. He blushed.

"Are you reading my mind right now, or am I just that obvious?"

"You're so obvious." They both chuckled. "You know, I'm getting a little bit better at controlling this. It's rude to let myself hear people's private thoughts, right? Things still poke out at me sometimes though."

"I wonder how far you might learn to control it. Say, might you be able to communicate with people telepathically? See images that people are thinking?" Mohinder leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and picking at his fingernails. "There's so much we still don't know about any of this."

"Well, whatever I can do, I sure as hell don't want _those people_ messing with me again. Any sign they're trying to steal back Molly?"

"Not as yet. Has Bennet been in contact with you?"

"No -- why?"

"He's been in touch with me. He's --" Mohinder looked askance for a moment. "He's planning to take down the Company, and has asked for my help."

"Well count me in. Do you know how he plans to do it?"

"No. He appears primarily motivated by protecting his daughter, which he and I now have in common."

"Me too."

"I'm sorry, I appreciate how much you care for Molly, but don't you have your own child on the way?"

"I don't, actually."

Mohinder's mouth dropped open, eyebrows raised.

"Janice and I are getting a divorce. I knew she'd cheated on me, but when she came last week she was arguing with herself in her head whether to tell me that her baby isn't mine, which of course I heard. Told her to go to hell."

"Oh. I'm so sorry, Matthew."

Matt laid back and looked up at the ceiling. "God, if it weren't for this thing I can do, I'd still be out in LA, directing traffic and setting up a nursery for another man's child. How fucked up is that, that I'm actually better off here, shot in the chest?"

Matt turned onto his side to look at Mohinder. "Thank you for bringing Molly by. She--" Matt looked down, blowing out breath in a huff. "I appreciate how hard it must be to suddenly have a ten-year-old daughter, and bringing her to see me every day is really going above and beyond. I just --"

Mohinder waited a few moments for Matt to continue, but he was looking over at the wall, seemingly at a loss. "She's a handful. But I can't imagine not taking care of her. I hardly knew the girl two weeks ago, but I feel responsible for her. It's like she's a part of me." Mohinder smiled knowingly. "I imagine you know how I feel?"

"Yeah," Matt bit out. "I -- I don't want to leave her. I don't really know where I'm gonna go when they discharge me, but I'm staying in New York. You two have a good thing going, and God knows I don't know the first thing about raising a kid, but --" Matt rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. Sorry to lay all this on you."

"Not at all." Mohinder put his hands on his knees so he could stretch out his back. He looked at Matt a moment, mouth open.

"What's wrong?"

Mohinder smiled. "Matthew, would you like to come help me raise Molly?"

The gleam in Matt's eye didn't go unnoticed. "Would that -- I mean, would you be ok with that?"

"I could certainly use the help. I'd hazard a guess that you care for Molly as much as I do. And she adores you. You heard her earlier -- she'd jump at the chance to live with her heroic Officer Parkman."

Matt was grinning ear to ear. Mohinder was smiling too, though sheepishly.

"My apartment is only two bedrooms, so we'd have to double up. It could get a bit -- cramped--"

"Mohinder, I would love to come live with you. The-- the two of you. That would be-- wow. Thank you!" Matt clapped Mohinder on the shoulder and let his hand rest there.

Mohinder's mouth went dry. Matt noticed his slight change in posture, and bit his lip, as if that would stop him from listening in.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, man." Matt gave Mohinder's shoulder another pat, then quickly retracted his hand. He raised his eyebrows at Mohinder in a way that Mohinder hoped was meant in all innocence. "We're going to need earplugs for when we tell Molly, aren't we?"

Mohinder laughed.


End file.
